Tips for Meeting a Casting Director

if you’ve made your mark, in the right way!! We’ll want to work with you and remember you!

Jo Adamson-ParkerCasting Director

When you get called in for a casting or audition there is usually a minute or so of ‘chit-chat’, a brief “interview” about you.

In my opinion these ‘brief encounters’ are vitally important, even more so than the reading you have been asked to prepare.

Does that sound odd?

Giving good chat is more important than giving a good reading!

You are probably thinking the important bit is how well you actually audition and read the part. Yes, that is important. The reading is for the part and the part is either yours or it is not, you are either right or wrong for that role.

Be honest about your capabilities and what you’ve done. We are in a small business, which gets smaller the longer you are in it, so any fibs will surely be found out!

Richard EvansCasting Director

This ‘chat’ is all about building a relationship. Your connection with the casting director in those few moments can make all the difference between you being called back time and time again or disappearing into a pile of forgotten faces.

It is so easy to mess it up. There are common mistakes which actors make time and time again when meeting casting directors or agents. You only get one chance to make a lasting first impression so don’t screw it up.

Tips for ‘the informal chit-chat’ with a casting director

Be Enthusiastic

You need to look and sound like you are happy to be there, you need to be confident and in the moment. You don’t want to come across as needy, but you don’t want to come across like you just don’t give a damn.

Sit up straight, don’t slouch, be bright eyed and responsive. The interviewer might be less than excited about meeting you but don’t let their blasé attitude put you off.

You are an actor – use your skills to imagine that the interviewer is someone who is interested in what you say. Answer that ‘interested person’ not the blasé one you might be faced with. Even if they are looking out of the window you should ‘look them in the eyes’.

Be Yourself

Casting Directors and Agents are looking at you both as an actor, if you are right for the part or the agency, and also as a person. You as a person, your vibe, is what makes you unique and will get you remembered.

Be yourself, don’t say what you think they want to hear, don’t play a character. Relax, imagine you are at a cocktail party with friends, keep it conversational and open.
TV’s The Bill and Hull Truck Theatre Casting director Jo Adamson-Parker says “Just be yourself…we can tell when you’re trying to flatter and most of us don’t like it! And no gifts! I’ve had some really random ones and it’s just plain weird!!”

Have a trick up your sleeve

Prepare an anecdote about yourself and have it up your sleeve to pop into the conversation early on. Find a way to slip it into conversation seamlessly.

This technique is known as ‘bridging’ and is a skill which politicians are perfect at, watch Newsnight and see how politicians can avoid answering a question with an anecdote.

Make sure that your anecdote is something you are proud of, it’s great if it is about a recent acting job or who you have been working with. I also think it is wonderful to give them a glimpse of you outside the acting world, let them see the real you – make yourself unique and you will become memorable.

Never Apologise

It is so easy for us actor’s to slip into apology. “I just did a part in Eastenders, but it was only a couple of lines”, “I played Titania in MIdsummer Nights Dream, but it was on the fringe”, “I just worked in a Kenneth Branagh film, but it wasn’t released in the UK” etc, etc.

Your job in that room with that casting director or agent is to deal in positivity. Cut out anything negative, stay away from whining or moaning.

Stay grounded and real, don’t become a Care-Bear, but stay positive and you will make the right impression.

Casting director Jo Adamson-Parker says “Don’t lie but be positive .. having done nothing for six months can be turned into ..’well I’ve been refreshing my skills and working on my monologues’ – there’s always a way to put a positive spin on things”

Keep it Short

You don’t need to gabble or over-talk. Have confidence that once you have said something it has been heard, you don’t need to justify it or repeat it. Keep your stories short and they will be perfect.

Follow Up

This is a popular practice in the US but less so over here, which makes it all the more important. With fewer people doing this, it means you will probably make even more of an impression.

Follow up your meeting or casting with a note. Just a few words of thanks for meeting you and maybe what you are up to or where they might see you next.

Keep it brief, keep it on a professional level. It will keep you in the casting director’s mind and make them remember you all the more.

If you’ve had a great or disasterous meeting with a CD or agent we’d love to hear about it. Get in touch via Twitter @actorhub